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Bond of $75,000 set for defendant in Sunday shooting after vehicle mishap

Shooting victim identified as Topekan, 40

Robert D. Traphagen, 69, was booked late Sunday into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with aggravated battery.

A judge on Monday set bond at $75,000 for a 69-year-old man arrested Sunday in connection with the shooting of another motorist after a two-vehicle collision on US-24 highway.

During his first appearance hearing, the defendant was identified as Robert Dean Traphagen. Jail records list Traphagen as living in northeast Topeka and as being booked into the Shawnee County Jail at 11:24 p.m. Sunday in connection with aggravated battery (intentional great bodily harm).

The Shawnee County Sheriff's Office on Monday afternoon identified the man who was shot as Jason M. Harris, 40, of Topeka. Injuries to Harris aren't considered life-threatening, a statement issued by the sheriff's office said.

During the hearing, Traphagen said he was a single, lifelong Topekan whose source of income was a monthly Social Security check.

Traphagen's only criminal history was a conviction in 1986 for abuse of an animal.

Because of the use of a firearm during the crime, assistant district attorney Kevin Keatley asked the judge to set bond at $100,000 cash or professional surety.

“The allegations are severe,” Keatley said.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Steven Ebberts set bond at $75,000 cash or surety, adding there is a public safety concern. Ebberts also appointed the public defender to represent Traphagen.

On Sunday, Sheriff Herman Jones said a two-vehicle automobile accident quickly turned into an altercation and shooting northeast of Topeka. Harris was hospitalized with wounds that weren’t believed to be life-threatening, Jones said.

Traphagen told the judge he doesn't read or write well, and Ebberts said jail officials would help him with the paperwork in his case.

If Traphagen doesn’t post bond, his case next will appear in court in about two weeks at a criminal assignment docket. If he is released on bond, he would appear in court July 30.

The incident originally was called road rage, but the sheriff said authorities still were investigating the cause of the collision and altercation that occurred about 6:23 p.m. Sunday at N.E. US-24 highway near the exit ramp to the Oakland Expressway (West K-4 highway).

Jones said the collision happened about a quarter-mile before the exit, then one adult male driver shot the other outside their cars. Jones said the victim was reportedly talking and alert.

The initial report indicated the man was shot in the neck. There were multiple passengers in the vehicles, and several people were taken to be questioned about the incident. Jones said the gun was retrieved from a bush on the side of the highway.